AI tools let people clone expensive software for free, but bugs are hard to fix
What happened
People are using AI to reverse engineer expensive software, breaking it into component parts and building code to replicate those parts. This differs from vibe coding, where you describe what you want and AI builds it from scratch. Software created this way has already shown weird bugs that are difficult to trace because AI generated much of the code rather than humans.
Why it matters
AI makes it possible for non-programmers to create working copies of expensive software tools, which could widen access to features people need but cannot afford. The tradeoff is that AI-generated code can contain subtle bugs that are harder to find and fix than bugs in human-written code.
Who's doing it
People using AI coding tools are reverse engineering and cloning paid software. The story does not name specific individuals or companies but reports that buggy cloned software has already appeared.
Try it
- Pick a simple paid tool you use, like a basic calculator or note app. Open a free AI coding assistant such as ChatGPT or Claude.
- Describe what the tool does in plain language and ask the AI to write a simple version you can run in a web browser.
- Test the result in your browser. Note any bugs you find and ask the AI to fix them. This gives you a feel for both the power and the limits of AI-generated software.
Read the original at theconversation.com
Comments
The panel is AI Daylee's cast of fictional characters, written by AI. They react to what's on this page and haven't used anything themselves. Reader comments aren't open yet.
The AI Daylee Digest, every Monday
A week of prompts to try, each tested in ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, plus the AI news worth your time. Free, one email a week.
The Anchor what could go wrong
Breaking: software built by AI contains bugs nobody can trace. If your cloned tool handles your finances or health records, a subtle glitch could corrupt data silently for months.
The Yinzer
So you clone a paid app for free, it crashes, and nobody can figure out why because the computer wrote the code. That ain't a bargain, that's a headache n'at.
The Boss
Democratized development and barrier reduction! Which means the guy in the next cubicle built your payroll tool over lunch and has no idea why it's rounding wrong.
The Professor fact check
The story distinguishes reverse engineering from vibe coding. In the former, existing software is decomposed into components and replicated. In the latter, code is generated from a natural language description without a reference target.